


Sunset Limited

by Necrxpolis



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Based on The Bright Sessions, Based on a Tumblr Post, I suck at tagging stuff so lmk if it need more tags, I'll add more tags as i go, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, they are all lgbt fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necrxpolis/pseuds/Necrxpolis
Summary: The powers tended to match their owners, that’s what they said. And if you saw Enjolras you’d think that they were absolutely right





	1. Warm Bodies

**Author's Note:**

> So i was on tumblr and i found this [post](http://hopelesslyindenial.tumblr.com/post/174725263037/itd-really-suck-if-i-got-ice-or-water-themed) and immediately thought of Bossuet, which led me to try and detail all powers everyone would have, also took some stuff from one of my favorite podcasts The Bright Sessions. And this is the trainwreck I was left with.  
> This isn’t beta’d and English is not my first language so any mistakes made are mine, sorry :c feel free to point anything out on my tumblr, though!  
> okay so this used to be called A Lonesome Hunt but I changed the name because why not, this time inspired by the play by Cormac McCarthy

It was officially in 1978 when the American Psychiatric Association removed powers –Or specialties, as they were sometimes called- from the manuals. In 1991, once the censuses started including ‘Powered/Specialized’ people in their forms the numbers hadn’t stop going up, it was estimated that one powered individual was born for every 10 ‘non-powered’ births. Soon enough, powered people were visible to anyone.  
The powers tended to match their owners, that’s what they said. And if you saw Enjolras you’d think that they were absolutely right. The obvious reason was that Enjolras owned seven different red jackets, but it was way more than that. He was a spectacle. Blinding and striking, he could warm up the coldest heart with a single smile and a word of encouragement but like fire, he could also burn you to the ground in a second, he had this glint in his eyes and the way of his walk, the smallest spark could turn into a full bonfire at his command. If you asked Grantaire, all his friends were just like their powers, they were beautiful and welcoming, but a force to be reckoned with. This also meant their meetings could be a bit more chaotic than your usual activist group. Which could be the reason why they were currently on the lookout for a new place to hold said reunions.  
You see, it all started in the same way all their other get-togethers do, but then Grantaire arrived, way later than usual and his normal buzzed state was replaced by a red-faced drunkenness, behind him followed, slightly less drunk, Musichetta, Éponine, Bahorel and a completely sober Jehan . While Enjolras had grown quite used to Grantaire’s lack of commitment for the cause, dragging his friends to accompany him in his own irresponsibility was too much. The first thing R heard was “How dare you?” and it all escalated from there. Only 30’ later they were escorted out the Corinth, Combeferre with an extinguisher in hand.  
Everyone around Enjolras felt the heat that was still radiating from him.  
“I can’t believe they kicked us out for good.”  
“Well, that was definitely our twelfth strike here,” awkwardly stated Feuilly, “It’s surprising they let us come back after that time Bahorel short circuited their equipment because he was losing our game of Monopoly”  
That memory was enough to lift the mood, but it was already midnight and Courfeyrac was still mourning the loss of his sweater, so after exchanging a few goodbyes and apologizes –Except from Grantaire and Enjolras to each other- everyone was on their way home.  
Jehan and Grantaire lived in the same building and on the same floor, 7°B and 7°C. There were a lot of pros of having someone like Jehan living next door, they seemed to have a special dexterity in talking R out of his panic attacks at 3 am, always had tea and sweets –Baked by themselves, worth selling your soul for- at the ready. Being Jehan’s neighbor also meant cat sitting, watering their plants if they were out all day, reminding them to eat something while they worked on their poetry book.  
Oh, and also the smell of decay and the occasional zombie bird.  
Jehan was one of those people who only matched their powers once you got to know them. If you saw them walking down the street, in their pastel skirt and their soft features, you wouldn’t think they owned a preserved heart and could raise the freaking dead. They were, multidimensional, to say the least.  
Once you got close to them it came as no surprise that they were a necromancer, they didn’t hide their affections towards anything or anyone, soon enough you’d be accustomed to their predilection to both the morbid and the flamboyant.  
It had been almost a week since their friends had been kicked out of the Corinth and they still hadn’t found a new place for their meetings, it seemed everyone was stressed out by it and Jehan wasn’t the exception, Grantaire was tired of getting rid of zombie rats, but even him worried about the future of the group and had been talking to Floréal, another neighbor and friend, who worked in a café closed by. It was finally today, on the afternoon of day sixth that he had gotten the confirmation he had hoping for, her boss had agreed on the group using the backroom at night whenever they wanted.  
He wasn’t sure if Enjolras would want to take up on the offer but he felt, partially, responsible for getting everyone kicked out.  
Just as he was pondering what to send on the group chat, Jehan threw open his front door  
“R HOLY SHIT”  


On the list of things Grantaire thought he would be doing on a Sunday night, this was not it.  
Immediately after entering his house, Jehan had grabbed his wrist and lead him to their own apartment, the distinct smell of something, someone, recently brought back.  
In the middle of their living room stood a handsome guy dressed in corroded black clothes, 1800s maybe, he wore a stoic expression but Grantaire could tell he was absolutely freaked out  
“Jehan, what the actual fuck?”  
“It was an accident! I swear,” Jehan was just as panicked as this guy pretended not be, and they started rambling about the cemetery and a dead bird and mist.

And this brings us back to the present waiting for the rest of their group to arrive to Jehan’s apartment. Combeferre was the first to arrive along with Courfeyrac, he sat the stranger down and tried to explain what was happening, like Grantaire, he too had dealt with his share of people like this guy, and with a tact that no other person had, he reassured him that “We don’t know what happened but right now your only option is to trust us, and you have my word we’ll figure this out”  
Eventually one by one they arrived and everyone sitting in Jehan’s living room, the stranger had been hidden in the bedroom until the situation was explained.  
“So, let me see if I got this right. You were hanging out in the cemetery and found a dead bird which you then tried to bring back, for some reason,” Bahorel seemed more amazed than terrified, “And when the ritual was completed you got a human instead?”  
“I don’t know what happened! Usually there’s a little bit of mist but nothing serious, this time I couldn’t even see what was in front of me,” Jehan had calmed down but they were still jittery, “And when it dispersed suddenly there was this whole ass dude in front of me! I thought it was a joke or something but the clothes were straight out of 1800, I know that for a fact”  
“Alright, you did nothing wrong, Jehan,” Enjolras was as calm as Combeferre had been earlier, “But we need to talk to him, figure out how we are gonna fix this. Because we will fix it. Can we meet him?”  
“Just, promise you won’t freak out on him”  
Everyone nodded and waited expectant for Jehan to go into their bedroom and retrieve the unexpected guest; he came out of the room with a fake confident that could trick almost anyone and most of them were surprised at how handsome this person was. Even dressed in Jehan’s mismatched style of pastels.  
But Éponine’s face completely paled as she let out an audible gasp  
“Montparnasse?”


	2. A Wrinkle in Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I changed the name? I don't know, I wasn't convinced by the first title.  
> I was actually gonna post this tomorrow because I /just/ started chapter 3, and I have 3 exams and like 4 assignments to turn in this next two weeks, so i don't know when I'll update again, hopefully soon. But after that it's gonna be recess and a normal updating schedule for me  
> Also I cheekily decided to name all chapters after movies because why not?  
> Enjoy!

_Living with the Thénardier family was already taking a huge toll on her back then; she had been in the family business since she was 11. Her mother –More like a business partner- had been gifted with a special power, she could teleport wherever she needed taking anyone with her if they were holding hands, any place, any time.  It was useful when planning a big heist, but it also meant being left alone in a WWI trench at 12 years old because she had misbehaved; the worst part about traveling with her mother was that you couldn’t interact with anyone that wasn’t a space-traveler too, and they were spare. The Institute had always kept a short leash on them since it started back in 1985; too powerful and too uncontrollable._

_She was only 16 when it happened; a heist they had_ _been planning for months went horribly wrong and her mother had fled with her_ _to 1830, but the Institute had followed and her mother fled to another time, not_ _even noticing she had left her daughter behind._

_That night was the first time she cried since WWI,_ _wondering the streets of Paris on her own was as striking as it was terrifying._ _She had known back alleys like a second home, but this was way worse, and the_ _loneliness of being invisible, actually invisible was almost too much. She_ _walked and walked until she heard the distinct sound of a bar fight down the_ _road, never mind the year those always stayed the same. A tall black man, maybe_ _in 26 years old, leisurely walked out of the bar like he hadn’t been in the_ _  
_ _fight in the first place, but his nose was bleeding_

_“Hey, little lady, what’s going on with those_ _clothes?” this stranger had a weird way of talking, like he’d taken up the way_ _of talking of too many people at once, it took her longer than she would admit_ _to realize it was because this guy was a traveler too_

_“You can see me?”_

_“What do you… oh,” it took him longer to realize_ _hoodies didn’t belong in the 1800, it seems, “How did you get here? You don’t_ _  
_ _seem like a traveler to me”_

_“Uh,” Éponine wasn’t sure how much she could tell this_ _stranger, but he didn’t seem like he was in the good side of the law either,_ _“Bitch of a mother left me here for good”_

_“Well, young one, I am your mother now.”_

_Under any normal circumstances, she would have never_ _followed a grown man to who-knows-where without her taser, but it’s not like_ _she was in any danger, even if they could see each other, they couldn’t touch_ _–which also meant he couldn’t get her home-, so why not?. After walking for_ _another 20 minutes they arrived to an inn that had obviously seen better days,_ _but Éponine felt almost nostalgic of her childhood when she entered._

_On the backroom, hunched over the big table in the_ _middle of the room, stood another three men; the first two look older, but the_ _youngest guy seemed like the boss, he was probably Éponine’s age and in any_ _other situation she might have seen herself spending the night with him, he was_ _gorgeous in a way that didn’t agree with his current situation. Like he had_ _been dropped out of a painting or a ballet play, all the right angles and_ _everything in the right place. But he was also covered in blood not his, it_ _seemed._

_“Gentleman, I need you to give me a second of your_ _attention and make yourselves presentable, my new daughter is in the room”_

_“I swear, Claquesous, if you brought another nasty dog_ _you saw on the street to live with us,” pretty face was the first to talk, “I_ _will murder you”_

_“Come on, Montparnasse, that was only once,” it seemed_ _like Claquesous was torn between taking the murder part as a joke or as a real_ _threat, “She’s just like me, well, her mother was at least, she’s stuck in the_ _past and only I can see her, can she stay?”_

_The other two men there seemed to be waiting for the_ _youngest to answer but they didn’t seem like they would disagree if asked_ _directly._

_“One condition,” Éponine guessed Montparnasse wouldn’t_ _hear the end of it if he said no, and even if he did say no, it's not like could see her and kick her out “She helps us with the police”_

_She nodded; this wasn’t different to what she did as_ _kid, less dangerous even._

_“She says yes”_

_“Well then, tell her ‘Welcome to the family’”_

 

 

“Montparnasse?”

“Do I know you?”

“It’s Éponine, Do you remember me?” she didn’t know which answer she was hoping for, Montparnasse was from a time of her life she half missed, half hated. A time of immense loneliness but the first time she ever felt like she had a family. And Montparnasse had been the first love she lost.

Everything was different for her now; she made breakfast for three every morning and never felt like she was out of place, like a spectator.

“Claquesous’ Éponine?” he gasped, showing emotion for the first time since he’d been brought back, but quickly went back to his suave façade, “So this is the time you belonged in, it’s weird seeing us both the same age now. I got so used to you staying young forever”

It was true, Montparnasse had been 27 when he died, and she was still 16 then. And sometime she still had nightmares about that day.

Éponine’s friends were quiet, sensing how intimate this moment was for her, and also because this was the biggest gossip they had in a group were everyone knew almost everything about the other, but Éponine was smarter than that and took Montparnasse back to Jehan’s bedroom, telling her friends that anyone that tried to eavesdrop would die, and honestly, they believed her.

It was almost an hour later that the bedroom door opened again, the group had given up on the gossiping and they were all watching The Joy of Painting, feasting on Jehan’s homemade cookies while they made tea for everyone. Jehan was absolutely proud of their ability to guess everyone’s favorite kind of tea, and they would not let this stranger –or not a stranger at all to Éponine, apparently- be the exception.

“I guess it’s time to introduce you to everyone. Fair warning, everyone here has powers, so probably don’t piss ‘em up.”

“These are Cosette and Marius. Yes, they are both my partners, don’t be jealous, jerk”

“Grantaire, he’s my special boy but I swear he’ll be the death of me”

One by one, Éponine introduced her friends, her family to Montparnasse, stating something brief about them or their powers.

“Lastly, this over here is Jehan, but I guess you’re already familiar with them. They are non-binary; the thing I explained to you back then. Their pronouns are they/them. Say something shitty about it and I’ll kick your ass back to the grave”

Montparnasse did a quick once over and everyone; even Éponine’s scrawny boyfriend seemed ready to brawl over their friends honor, but Jehan seemed calm about it. They had come from a shitty family, Éponine explained to him in the bedroom, and knew that some people simply couldn’t get over their ignorance and closed minds. They simply stood in front of him teacup in hand, with a welcoming smile.

“Here, your favorite”

He briefly considered refusing their cup of tea, not being much of an afternoon tea person, but he felt like it would have been a big offense, and after all, this was young Éponine’s family,

Okay, this tea was spectacular.

“The tea seer remains unbeaten,” laughed Éponine when he heard Montparnasse groan into his teacup, “What did you give him, Jehan, black tea like his soul?”

“Actually, it’s hibiscus and coconut milk, iced”

And if that was one of the first times Éponine saw Montparnasse blush, she didn’t mention it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: hey, long time, sorry to anyone that might have been interested. i changed a few things about this chapter bc i'm updating a new chapter tomorrow, yay
> 
> also, in case anyone is interested. i'm doing a few moodboards+info about the whole plot of this fic on my tumblr, so check that out if you want!  
> thanks and sorry again


	3. Men In Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first of all I'm so sorry it took me so long to finish this, I don't know if anyone even read this but like, I feel bad about taking so long. My bad. College is kicking my butt real bad, but the good news is i wrote this chapter and another one so yay, the bad news its that its a sad grantaire chapter so get ready.  
> i know i said that i was gonna wrote more dialogues but??? i'm a pretentious wannabe writer???? so i cant????? im as sad as you. i did need to introduce the biggest plot device of this whole fic tho. T H E I N S T I T U T I O N (On that note, if you read back you'll notice I changed the System for the Institution, idk it just makes more sense name wise)  
> Next one is kinda texty too because R's power is, like, my favorite one of them all. But i swear I'll try to make it more easygoing after that  
> so, yeah. idk if anyone is even interested in this anymore, but like if anyone's still reading this thanks  
> enjoy??
> 
> ((also read the end notes pls))

Everyone’s first experience with the Institute was different; the Institute of Preservation and Regulation of Powers (IPRP) or just the Institute was in charge of keeping tabs of every power and every person who had them, it was still a sore topic worldwide; most non-powered people seemed to think it was a great idea but when it came to powered people it was quite different and it all depended on where you landed on their list. The powers were divided in three main categories.  
The A class subjects were non-threatening powers, people with passive powers. Then there was the B class, the “potentials”, which were powers the Institute didn’t fully agree on whether they belonged to the A class or the C class. There was also the C class, the powers that could be dangerous for society but depended on the persona of owner. Two other categories existed that were used a lot less the first three, Class D for self-destructive powers, the powers that for one reason or another could cause harm on their owner. And then there was class E, but no one outside the Institute knew what class E meant.Within the classes there was also a scale added to it, identifying how high in the list they were, how much destruction they could bring -From one to six, there was also a seventh level, but no one on that level was allowed to live outside the IPRPs facilities-.  
Depending on the class and level you were bearing, the IPRP might force you to monthly power control classes, like Enjolras, a yearly ‘don’t try to do crimes because we have your records’ like Musichetta, or just a one-time warning to not be generally evil like with Cosette. On the worst cases, C6s and C7s, the Institute had the rights to lock you up; they called it “containment and rehabilitation of dangerous individuals” but everyone knew that if they catch you, you’re not coming back.

 

Time flowed so weirdly when you were stuck in it that she didn’t know how long had passed in her present-now-future from her disappearance, in this reality she knew it had been ten years of her being there, and one year since the Patron-Minette had officially split. She was staying with Claquesous, as she had since day one, but especially now that the nightmares of Montparnasse’s death plagued the both of them. The Institute’s agents came out of nowhere, on a day no different to any other until then, burst into their house and took Claquesous away from her, she knew they were saving her life but she did not regret spitting on the face of the agent that had arrested him. Coming back to her time had been the weirdest experience ever, after coming back she was put on a bus to the nearest Institute facility where she underwent a month of training to be reintegrated to society, it was horrible but the hardest part was yet to come. 

When the Institute had busted Claquesous’ house and told her they were taking her back, she was terrified of this moment, finding Grantaire and explaining why she had been missing for two years and now suddenly she was younger than him instead. He was at the same skatepark they frequented back then, the same old R she loved mixed with this new person, an absolute stranger. And how do you even start a conversation like this.  
“Hey… Dude,” well, definitely not like that. Grantaire turned around and for a second he didn’t react. The next one a little scream, and then he was crying.  
“What, the actual, fuck?” suddenly Éponine got a face-full of curls that smelt heavily of cheap beer and pot and now she was crying too, “’Ponine, what the- how did you even… I’m so, so fucking confused”  
“I don’t even know where to start, R. It’s been a real shitstorm”  
“You were gone for two whole damn years, Éponine,” said Grantaire between sniffles. “It was like you never even existed, your family left too, a few days later. God damn it, I didn’t even know if you were alive”  
“I have so much to explain, R, but not here. Please let’s just… Where are you even living nowadays?” all the other guys at the skatepark where shamelessly watching the whole exchange, but seemed to respect Grantaire’s space. What else had Éponine missed?  
“Oh, about that…”  
The house belonged to the Laigle’s, a family she didn’t even know lived in the neighborhood. Éponine wanted to ask what happened this time with R’s parents, but she didn’t know if they were still close enough for that.  
“So, you sure this one can be trusted, R?” in front of her there was this kid with a buzz cut and the biggest smile she had ever seen.  
“Hell yeah, Bossuet over here is one good potato,” R sat on the floor of the bedroom Bossuet and him shared, an arm around his friend “oh, and besides he has powers too, don’t worry”  
“Oh… Cool. Well we have a lot of catching up to do, R. And I guess there’s ‘a good potato’ that I need to be introduced with”

 

It took a whole weekend of convincing and a full week of radio silence for Grantaire to talk to her again, he was absolutely pissed with her. And who could blame him? He spent two years mourning the death of his closest friend only to have her dropped off at their old hangout spot by some suits. But he couldn’t stay mad at her; she had been through the gutter and lost everything but even then she was still so worried about R and his wellbeing in her ‘I don’t care, what are you talking about? Shut up’ way.

 

“I probably should have asked this before, but where are you even living now ‘Ponine?” Bossuet asked, after so much emotional stress, the three were getting along quite good  
“Well, the institute was pretty cool with that. I’m staying with this other kids with dangerous parents, it sucks but not as hard as staying with my actual folks did”  
“Cheers to the fucking institute, then” Grantaire lifted an imaginary cup instead of the beer can next to him.  
“So, what’s your story, Laigle, how did you and R meet?”  
“It’s, a boring story really; you wouldn’t be interested!” Bossuet’s cheeks turned red  
“Judging from that reaction, you either hooked up or something really embarrassing happened. Spit it”  
“I was at the skatepark and Bossuet broke his nose trying to do an ollie, I had to take him to the hospital”  
There was an awkward silence, and then Éponine burst out laughing, and soon they were all in laughing tears. Éponine would miss Claquesous forever, but in this moment, she was so glad to be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, that's Éponine's backstory and how she went back to the present, hopefully it makes sense?? anyways I'm uploading the next chapter on sunday probably, i'll try to update tomorrow but i have to go to a psych ward for college, its interesting but also really emotionally draining and I don't think I'll be alive enough for uploading.  
> Anyways. please check out my [tumblr](https://necrxpolis.tumblr.com/tagged/powersau) if you wanna read up on the institute, i'll be uploading some moodboards with info on the general plot of the fic because they're easy and fun to make. so expect more on les amis soon!
> 
> thank you so much if you kept reading til this. <3  
> see you sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Alright that’s all for now, I'm sorry this is mostly text and not so much dialogue but it's just world building and trying to establish as much as I can about this au. Next chapter might be a little word-heavy too, but after that it'll be a lot more light.  
> This is a wip and it literally took me a full month to write this in between exams so I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update. I'm already halfway done with the second chapter so hopefully I'll update this weekend. You can check a bit more of everyone’s powers on my [tumblr](https://necrxpolis.tumblr.com/tagged/powersau) and also please check out [The Bright Sessions](http://www.thebrightsessions.com/) because it’s an amazing podcast and more people need to know it.  
> Thanks for reading! <3


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